Gays in Pompeii?
A remarkable discovery may have been unearthed from the ancient city of Pompeii; the Roman city that was destroyed by the sudden eruption of Mt. Vesuvius some 2,000 years ago in 79 AD.
According to a report in The Telegraph, two bodies found wrapped in a close embrace in their final moments as they were covered beneath molten rock.
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Here at the blog, we can’t help but wonder if the two men passionately embraced one another in a moment of fear, realizing their deaths were inevitable and choosing to hold each other tight until the bitter end.
More from the Telegraph:
“The bodies were dubbed “The Two Maidens” when they were first discovered but in a startling discovery this week scientists found the two bodies were actually male – raising speculation that they may have been gay lovers.”
Here are some additional nuggets of information:
“The bodies of the “Two Maidens” were discovered in the House of the Cryptoporticus during excavations at the World Heritage site led by archaeologist Vittorio Spinazzola when he was superintendent at Pompeii in the early 20th century.
One of the two bodies is lying at a right angle to the other and seen with his head resting on the other’s chest in search of comfort and perhaps protection.
Extensive anthropological tests of the duo’s bones and teeth have revealed that one of the them was a young man aged about 18 years of age while the second was probably an adult male aged 20 years or older.”
Archaeologists are certain the duo were not brothers, not father and son and not related in any way, according to the story.
Most historians agree that in ancient Rome (753 BC–476 AD), there was no vocabulary to used to distinguish between homosexuality and heterosexuality.
A person’s orientation was defined by behavioral mannerisms , whether active or passive, in both gay and straight relationships. Roman society had a patriarchal system in which the gender role of the male was the primary authority, emphasized by the “active” masculinity as a symbol of power and status.
